


What Lies Ahead

by sartiebodyshots



Category: Falling Skies
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Post-Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-11
Updated: 2015-11-11
Packaged: 2018-05-01 02:47:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5189261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sartiebodyshots/pseuds/sartiebodyshots
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Frederick contemplates his future with Ben.</p>
            </blockquote>





	What Lies Ahead

Ben and Frederick have found a quiet spot to sit alone together in the chaos of the reception they are at when Ben looks down.  “Oh, hey there!” 

Ben lets go of his hand and leans down.  When he sits up again, he has Virginia in his lap. 

“Hello, Virginia,” Frederick says.  “I hope you are enjoying the party.”

Truthfully, even he is bored and he attends many such event in his capacity as ambassador.  Technically, he is acting in his role of ambassador today, celebrating the official marriage of heroes Cochise and Tom.  It has little to do with their actual wedding, but humans find it important to have events like this to celebrate their heroes. 

Virginia waves at him and nods before turning back to Ben.  She is still too young to speak, so she communicates with the Volm sign language.  It is slightly altered to accommodate her family’s names and other human concepts that Volm have never had any use for.

_Come dance with me!_ she signs. 

Ben looks back to Frederick.  “Do you mind?”

“I believe she is trustworthy,” Frederick says, smiling at them both.  “Take good care of him.”

_I will!_ Virginia signs.  _Come on, Ben!_

Ben stands, scooping her up.  He leans down to press his lips against Frederick’s cheek.  “Love you.”

“I love you as well,” Frederick says. 

Virginia tugs on Ben’s jacket impatiently. 

“I’m coming!” Ben says, laughing and turning towards the dancefloor. 

Frederick watches with interest and Ben sets Virginia on the floor.  Virginia stands on his feet and grabs his hands, and together they dance.

It is interesting.  He had heard rumors of an alien and Volm hybrid before he left the nestship.  Mostly, he had believed it was a fiction, and he did not bother himself with such an unlikely rumor.  At the time, he could not have picked a human out of a display of many aliens.

But the alien and Volm hybrid is real.  And she is related to the human that is most important to him.  And she is quite kind and caring as well.

Something else stirs within him as well.  Watching Ben play with a human and Volm hybrid forces Frederick to consider the future- or at least one possible future.  It is like a gentle revelation unfolding as he watches them together.

By now, Frederick knows that he wants Ben to be a significant part of his life for the rest of his life.  He understands that the traditional way for humans to make such a commitment is through marriage, but he does not know if Ben desires that.  There is no equivalent Volm institution that he could offer to Ben.

Whether Ben desires a human wedding or not, Frederick hopes that he desires to reproduce.  While Frederick understands that biology does not make family- indeed, he is still learning what family can be- there is something intimately appealing about creating a new life with Ben.

It has always been expected that all Volm would reproduce; it was something he knew he would do even when he was young.  The supply of troops was in constant need of replenishing.

Creating offspring is something that Frederick always expected he would do, but with Ben it would be different than what he expected.  Frederick knows that Ben would never approve of their offspring being sent to the nestships to be raised (if there even are nestships).  He would want to raise any offspring they produced together.

Frederick feels similarly; he wants to protect his offspring from the pain and violence he experienced in his own childhood.  At the time, it had seemed normal, but now he has learned there is another way.  That is the course of action he wants to take with Ben.

Such an idea is terrifying; Frederick has no idea how to raise an offspring.  But he did not know how to be a mate to a human, either, and he has done so anyway.

Plus…, he thinks as he watches Ben and Virginia play, Ben would make an excellent parent.  He would know what to do when Frederick does not. 

There are many possible futures, and perhaps Virginia’s conception was a chance event that no one would be able to replicate, no matter how much they desired to.  But Frederick is certain that he would like to at least attempt to produce offspring with Ben, eventually.

* * *

 

“I want to reproduce,” Frederick says.

Ben almost chokes on his orange juice.  “Excuse me?”

“I want to reproduce,” Frederick says, speaking louder and slower. 

Ben clears his throat.  “No, I heard you.  But I just mean… with me?  Now?  We’re eating breakfast.”

“Yes, with you.  And no, I would not wish to interrupt your meal,” Frederick says.  “I also understand that we are both young, so if you do not want to yet, I understand.  I believed that I should inform you of my desire, however.”

Ben swallows hard.  “Honestly I've never thought about it that much.  I mean, at fourteen, that definitely wasn't something I was thinking about.  And then the Espheni came and since they're gone, I've been thinking about a lot of other stuff.”

“I understand and if you do not desire offspring, I do not want to pressure you,” Frederick says.  “I merely wished to express my genuine desire to create offspring with you.  For a Volm, reproduction is a duty.  But for me, with you, it does not feel like a duty, but something I want.”

Ben smiles.  “That means a lot.  And I think I probably will want kids, eventually.  Just not right now.”

Frederick beams at him.  “That makes me very happy.”

“And I'm glad that you, you know, want a future with me,” Ben says.

“I hope that I have not made you think I do not want you in my future,” Frederick says, frowning a little. 

“No, no, nothing like that,” Ben says, shoving pancakes in his mouth so he can figure out how to phrase it.  “I just mean… you’ve been here for a couple years- ever since the war ended.  I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted to go the Volm homeworld and, like, find yourself before settling down.  If you wanted to go without me, that’d make sense, too.”

“I am here.  I am not sure why I would need to locate myself,” Frederick says.

Ben snorts a little.  “It’s a phrase.  It means, like, trying to figure out who you are.”

“In that case, I have been attempting to locate myself since your father eliminated all the Espheni,” Frederick says.  “I was no longer a warrior, and so I did not know what I could be.  These last few years have been a learning experience for me.  I have learned that I enjoy diplomacy and helping to determine what my people will become, and that it is best when I am with you.”

Ben doesn’t know how he can possibly reply to that, so he just leans over to kiss Frederick hard, grinning into the kiss. 

“We are going to have such cute kids someday,” Ben murmurs, still leaning over and cupping Frederick’s face.

“I believe so as well,” Frederick agrees.

Their future is looking bright.


End file.
